One of my fellow protesters has been communicating with the Collegiate Ministries Coordinator for the TBC since the protest and has posted some of that correspondence:

Essentially, I would just like to discuss questions that were related to the heart issues behind the matters, questions on philosophy of action, biblical connections, questions on how the parties were communicating or not communicating, etc (which is really all students are concerned about anyway). James wouldn’t go into any of that and in fact said it was irrelevant.

In fact, in response to questions raised regarding Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 he said, “I am well aware that Scripture says we should not sue. But sometimes circumstances and other parties leave no alternative.” Scripture can just be sooo inconvenient sometimes, can’t it Dr. Porch?

There seems to be a bunch of religiosity divorced from the gospel; hearts held hostage by shallow compartmentalized faith that only reaches so deep.

…and then the plea:

Assuage my doubts. Let me know that a bunch of old men are not playing chess with other people’s lives. Let me know that they’re pondering both grace and justice in light of God’s Word alone and not secular wisdom. Let me know that there is hope in joining the world of adults and not just more of which to despair.

That’s exactly what I was concerned about, so thanks Matt. Read more, it’s important.

Today I traveled with a group of about 25 or 30 other Belmont students down to the Tennessee Baptist Convention headquarters to peacefully hand them letters showing our concern in regards to the lawsuit against Belmont. We’d used Facebook to organize ourselves, and according to the confirmed attendees on the website, we expected to see at least 86 people involved. As it turned out, fewer actually attended, but those that did had some great things to say.

Belmont’s legal council apparently contacted the protest’s organizers–Nicole Loveless, Nick Williams, and Melody Drushal–last night to discourage the event from actually taking place. In a meeting today, the three students spearheading the protest ironed out some of the details with Belmont’s legal council, and though there was still discouragement and a firm stance from the lawyers that Belmont was not in any way supporting the protest, the decision whether or not to proceed was left up to the students. After prayer and consideration, they decided to continue as planned. More…

The TBC contributes $2.3 million a year, less than 3% of Belmont’s budget. Belmont has said it won’t have any trouble replacing the money.

More here.

Well, I’m on Fall Break right now, the family’s all gone to bed, and I’m stuck on a college sleep schedule in a time zone one hour ahead of my norm. I was finally able to look deeper into the issue between Belmont and the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Perhaps I don’t understand the finer intricacies, but it seems to me that a shareholder commanding 3% of a company’s stocks can hardly demand a right to 100% of the trustee positions. But that’s just what the TBC does. They provide about 3% of Belmont’s financing, and are gettin’ all hot and bothered over a proposal issued by Belmont to have 60% Baptist trustees and 40% non-Baptist (but still Christian) trustees on the Board.

The funny thing is a letter to the editor in the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s weekly paper–Baptist & Reflector–bids good riddance to Belmont. As if it’s all Belmont’s loss. As if Belmont misses out on the TBC’s whopping 3% and can’t more than make up for it with contributions from donors that have been reluctant to donate as long as we’re controlled by the TBC. The letter to the editor reads like it’s all to the TBC’s benefit, since of course pulling funding from Belmont would mean increased funding for the two remaining Tennessee Baptist colleges, Carson-Newman and Union. But I suppose the author of this letter, Kevin Shrum, would say that. He’d be thrilled to see more money go to Union. That’ll give him and everyone else on Union’s Board of Trustees more to play with.